


Icy Struggle

by rukaXtora



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: M/M, Secret Santa, Starlight Celebration (Final Fantasy XIV), Starlight Exchange 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:42:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28517352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rukaXtora/pseuds/rukaXtora
Summary: When the Warrior of Light discovers that ice fishing for his beloved knight is agonizingly painful, but worth it.A simple one-shot/drabble for my Starlight Exchange 2020 secret santa partner!
Relationships: Au Ra Characters/Elezen Characters (Final Fantasy XIV), Haurchefant Greystone/Warrior of Light
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	Icy Struggle

**Author's Note:**

> My Starlight Exchange 2020 gift for Clay (@cuttledraws)! I took into account Aesir's hobby of fishing and Haurchey ship and kind of conjured this up in my head. Happy Starlight to you!!!
> 
> Beta'd by @yotwithluv <3

The bitter cold wouldn't stop him today. _I've got this,_ Aesir thought confidently as he gripped his fishing pole tight. _I got a bite!_ His focus during his stay in Coerthas was to master ice fishing by _this day_ , and he had ventured to several frozen ponds and lakes over the past several days without much success. His scales felt frozen, his horns were icicles upon his face, and he was sure that his tail must have fallen off somewhere with how numb it was. Even after his constant visits to a certain Elezen knight at Camp Dragonhead, the eternal winter that was Coerthas Central Highlands still made his teeth rattle. The Warrior of Light has braved unholy gods and felled foul beasts, but ice fishing had become his greatest adversary within the week. Was it so hard to just catch something for a special meal for such a special day? Apparently, the Twelve willed it so.

However, his perseverance eventually bore fruit. After an agonizing four-hour wait, he had _finally_ scored a nibble. Aesir grinned as he peered into the little hole he had carved into the ice that surfaced the lake. "Just you wait, my friend, I'm gonna roast you up over a fire and cut up some lemons and-"

 _"Ahh, there you are, my dear! I'd been looking all over for you!"_ a cheery voice called out to him.

His voice always brought heat to his cheeks, his face reddening like mad as he heard the crunching of the fallen snow behind him grow increasingly louder with each step. The source's chainmail clinked as he drew closer, and, in sheer excitement, Aesir quickly stood up from his little wooden stool and turned to face him. In the midst of his joy, he had absentmindedly knocked his fishing basket over with his tail, causing his bait to spill haphazardly all across the ice.  


"My dear," came Haurchefant's warm voice, chuckling as he held out a steaming tin mug of hot chocolate. "I guess it's a good thing that the lake is frozen, or your things would have tumbled into the water. That would have been a disaster, no?"  


Aesir smiled as he reached out his left hand to accept the mug, fishing pole still gripped in his right. "I wondered how you fared the cold today, so I thought to bring you some chocolate to warm you up." The enticing scent of the chocolate and steamed milk filled Aesir's nostrils as he brought the mug to his lips. Instantly, the drink burned his tongue, but he paid it no mind. The chocolate enveloped his body in a sudden warmth that only his beloved could provide, and it was always a welcomed feeling despite the burning sensation in his mouth. "Thank you, dar-"

The tugging on the line brought his attention back to the dark hole in the ice. "Wait, _that fish_ -!" Aesir yelped as the line swerved in every which way, the icy edge cutting the line dangerously close to snapping. He thrust the mug back into Haurchefant's hands as he returned his attention onto the fishing pole, ignoring the liquid heat that seeped through his gloves as he watched the pole bend so acutely that he feared the wood would splinter and split at any given moment. "I've almost got it! Just a bit more!" 

He wasn't about to let his prey get away, not after allowing the chilling snow to pummel him for all of four agonizingly freezing hours. Aesir grit his teeth as the line began thinning, his focus now on reeling the fish in before the line broke. _This feels like a big one! Wait, what if the hole in the ice isn't big enough?_ This scaly bastard was struggling, and by the Fury, Aesir would _not_ let it win today! Not with _him_ of all people watching. Aesir began taking careful steps back as he reeled in the line, watching and praying to the Twelve that it wouldn't pop and let his quarry escape.  


"Dear, _the line!_ " Haurchefant cried out as he tossed the mugs of chocolate behind him and dove for the fishing net resting by Aesir's stool. With a loud clunk and screeching scrapes, Haurchefant managed to grasp the worn wooden handle of the net and slid unceremoniously towards the fishing hole.  


Biting cold all forsaken, Aesir heaved as his prey wove to-and-fro, thrashing wildly as the fish drew closer and closer to the surface. "Pull him free, darling! I have the net ready!" Aesir grunted in response, knowing that this would be his only shot, given that the line would snap at any moment. The fates were cruel: either he scores his only catch of the day or the fish swims away with a slimy Topwater Frog leg in its belly.

Today would _not_ be that fish's day. Not today of all days. The day would go to Aesir Solair, Warrior of Light and fisherman extraordinaire.

"I'm pulling it now! Get ready!" Aesir took his chance and yanked the fishing pole over his shoulder, wincing as he heard the tell-tale _snap!_ of the fishing line. The fish launched into the air, a hefty Northern Pike soaring in all of its scaled majesty as the waters splashed behind it like crystalline stars before Haurchefant swung the net and entangled it within the twine in one fell swoop. With a sickeningly loud thud, the fish had succumbed to gravity and knocked itself out when it collided with the ice.  


Aesir wanted to weep, victory was in his favor this day. He wouldn't return to Camp Dragonhead empty-handed, and his planned evening was saved. "By the Fury," Haurchefant laughed, catching his breath as he lifted the net. "This was certainly well-fought and well earned, my dear!" Haurchefant beamed triumphantly towards Aesir as he hoisted the net over his shoulder and bent over to collect the lonely discarded mugs now empty of their once-precious contents. "How much would this fetch at market, I wonder?" he pondered aloud. 

"It's, ah, not going to a fishmonger," Aesir replied as he gathered his stool and fallen bait basket.

"Oh? is it being mounted for a trophy? It _is_ a rather large fish, truly. I'm sure it would break a few records!"

"No, um..." Aesir trailed off as Haurchefant's steel blue eyes peered into his curiously. Aesir gulped. "I ah, had hoped to surprise you by cooking it for our Starlight dinner tonight. I wanted to catch something local to you but prepare it with a recipe of my own creation. It's honestly not much, but I hope that you'll like it..."

The way Haurchefant's eyes sparkled made Aesir's heart swell larger than Dalamud. His smile made the struggle all worth it, not caring for the moment that he needed to repair his fishing pole nor that his basket and its contents were scattered around them. Aesir's own smile felt several malms wide as Haurchefant hastily diminished the distance between them and pulled him into a crushing one-armed embrace. "Thank you, my dearest sun," Haurchefant whispered as he pressed a warm, chaste kiss on his cheek, his scales feeling as is they were on fire from the heat that his beloved's sudden touch delivered. "Truly, thank you. I've gifts waiting for you under the Sentinel, and I've personally requested that a Starlight cake be delivered to the Falling Snows just for us tonight. Let's make this a Starlight to remember, shall we?"


End file.
